Mixed Iqaluit crime figures caused by computer glitch
Prisoners up slightly, calls to cops way down in 2009
Total calls to the Iqaluit RCMP are drastically down so far this year, while the number of people taken into custody is up, but police say it’s a computer glitch, not cause for optimism..
Sgt. Peter Pilgrim presented the RCMP’s latest crime statistics to Iqaluit city council Sept. 22. The figures show total calls to police plummeted this year by more than 30 per cent, from nearly 7,000 by Sept. 2008 to around 4,800 this year.
Meanwhile, total prisoners grew from more than 2,500 this time last year, to over 2,800 this year.
“I can’t explain,” Pilgrim told councillors. “Every other month [it seems our calls] are going through the roof.”
While cooler weather tends to slow calls to police, Pilgrim said rank and file officers are as busy as ever, even though that contradicts the statistics he presented to council. He added that earlier in the year, calls to police were “way up.”
“Day to day our call numbers aren’t going down,” he said.
Still, Coun. Glenn Williams said the numbers are good news because most crime stats appeared to drop this year.
But in a later interview, Pilgrim said there is something wrong with the way the RCMP system is calculating the total number of calls. The math is wrong, he said.
“We haven’t done any miracle here,” he said, adding the detachment’s computer staff are looking into the problem.
Territorial and municipal offences are down, technical offences like breaches of court orders and public disturbances are down slightly, while drug crimes and crimes like robbery, threats and assaults are down significantly, according to figures presented by Pilgrim at council Sept. 22.
“I pray that it is [because] we are doing something right,” Pilgrim said.
Meanwhile, traffic offences, drunk driving arrests and liquor act charges are up slightly, although it may be possible to attribute that to the Take Back The Night series of road checks staged by police and bylaw enforcement recently.
Property crimes, like break-ins and theft, were also up slightly.
Williams also praised the RCMP for sharing more information with council. Police reports to council used to be few and far between and contain little detail, which was a source of strain between RCMP and councillors.
Pilgrim also told councillors he and other officers would soon be visiting city schools to talk to kids about policing. He said it’s important for kids to get a chance to meet police in class, since many only encounter police when traumatic events happen at home.
“We want them to recognize that not only bad happens when the police come,” he said.
Pilgrim said the RCMP is also preparing a workshop to teach Iqalummiut ways to stay safe on the city’s streets.
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